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Ya Biladi
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Ya Biladi
Morocco faces extreme water scarcity by 2050 warns UN report
DR A recent international report titled « Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023–2025 », published this month by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center in collaboration with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, presents alarming findings about Morocco's worsening water and climate situation. The report warns that if current trends continue, Morocco could enter a phase of «extreme water scarcity» by the middle of the century. Six Years of Drought… and a Drier Future While droughts are a natural part of Morocco's climate, the report notes that their frequency and severity have increased significantly since the early 20th century. Between 2018 and 2024, the country experienced its longest multi-year drought on record, with 2022 being the driest year in three decades. According to climate projection models, rainfall in the Atlas Mountain basins could decrease by up to 65% by 2100, posing a major threat to Morocco's water supply and agricultural productivity. The country currently has just 645 cubic meters of renewable water resources per person per year, compared to 10,000 in water-rich countries. That number is projected to drop to 500 cubic meters by 2050, pushing Morocco into the category of extreme water stress. The start of 2024 was particularly dire. The national dam fill rate averaged only 25%, while January marked record-breaking temperatures of 37°C and a 57% deficit in rainfall. The Al Massira Dam, Morocco's second-largest, dropped to critical levels, between 1% and 2% full. In response, cities across the kingdom implemented strict water restrictions, including bans on washing cars, watering gardens, and cleaning public streets. In some areas, hammams (public baths) were ordered to close three days per week. Turning to Desalination Despite High Costs In response to the crisis, Morocco has ramped up its investment in seawater desalination, despite the high costs associated with importing 90% of its energy needs. The country plans to construct 11 new desalination plants between 2024 and 2025, alongside the operation of 23 mobile units already deployed. Between 2021 and 2023, Morocco also invested approximately €15 million in cloud seeding programs, which are estimated to have increased rainfall by 4% and boosted agricultural yields by as much as 20%. The prolonged drought has severely impacted Morocco's agricultural sector, which employs about 35% of the national workforce. Just ahead of Eid al-Adha in 2023, meat prices soared to record levels, prompting the government to quintuple livestock imports and suspend customs duties to stabilize the market. By April 2024, agricultural output had declined by 20%, while a European report forecasted that wheat and barley yields would be 30% below average. The government was forced to extend subsidies for soft wheat imports through the end of 2025. The report also noted a 38% drop in sheep numbers compared to 2016 due to the prolonged drought. A Call to Action The report urges drought-affected countries, including Morocco, to assess risks and implement urgent adaptation strategies. Recommendations include reducing water consumption, diversifying supply through desalination and wastewater reuse, strengthening governance and early warning systems, and enhancing community engagement and regional cooperation to confront the growing threat of water scarcity.
New Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Global drought: A perfect storm
Sixty-eight million people needing food aid in Southern Africa, 23 million facing acute hunger in Eastern Africa, 4.4 million in Somalia at crisis-level food insecurity, and 1.7 million children suffering acute malnutrition in Somalia — millions are suffering as the global drought crisis deepens in 2023-2025, according to a comprehensive report released today by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), titled Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025. Supported by the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), the report synthesises data from over 250 peer-reviewed studies, official records, and media sources across more than a dozen countries, revealing a slow-moving catastrophe that has devastated ecosystems, economies, and human lives since 2023. With impacts persisting into 2025, experts warn that the world is entering a 'new normal' of escalating drought severity. The data is alarming. In Eastern and Southern Africa, over 90 million people face acute hunger, with 68 million in Southern Africa requiring food aid as of August 2024. Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi have seen repeated crop failures, with Zimbabwe's 2024 maize harvest plummeting 70% year-on-year, driving maize prices to double and leading to the death of 9,000 cattle from thirst and starvation. In Somalia, 43,000 people died in 2022 due to drought-linked hunger, and by early 2025, 4.4 million—over a quarter of the population—face crisis-level food insecurity, including 784,000 at emergency levels. The energy crisis in Zambia has cascading effects. The Zambezi River, critical for hydropower, dropped to 20 per cent of its long-term average discharge by April 2024, reducing the Kariba Dam's generation capacity to 7 per cent. This triggered blackouts lasting up to 21 hours daily, shuttering hospitals, bakeries, and factories.
India Today
03-07-2025
- Climate
- India Today
How climate change-fuelled drought hit India's sugar production
A new UN-backed report reveals that severe droughts since 2023 have disrupted production and supply chains of key crops like rice, coffee, and sugar, triggering global price rises and deepening food report, Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025, prepared by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), highlights how climate change and increasing pressure on land and water resources have fueled some of the most widespread and damaging drought events in recorded Thailand and India, major producers of sugar, the 2023-2024 dry conditions caused a 12.4% drop in sugar harvests. This shortage contributed to an 8.9% increase in sugar and sweets prices in the United States over the past year. Similarly, rice production in Southeast Asia was severely the region's largest economy, faced steep rice shortages by late 2023, forcing imports from neighboring countries to meet demand. The resulting rice price surge became a key driver of inflation, prompting the Indonesian government to provide rice aid to over 21 million families. Bullock carts loaded with sugarcane head towards the Saiyadri Sugar Factory during the crushing season, in Karad. (PTI Photo) advertisementCoffee production also suffered. Vietnam, the world's largest producer of Robusta coffee, experienced a 20% decline in its 2023-24 harvest due to heat, drought, and pest outbreaks, pushing coffee futures to record drought conditions were intensified by the 2023–2024 El Nio event, which amplified the impacts of climate change across vulnerable Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw described drought as a 'silent killer' that slowly drains resources and devastates lives. The report warns that drought is no longer a distant threat but an escalating crisis demanding urgent global cooperation. It compounds poverty, hunger, energy insecurity, and ecosystem collapse, with ripple effects disrupting economies emphasise that drought's growing frequency and severity—driven by climate change—require proactive, coordinated action, including improved early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable water such measures, droughts will continue to threaten food security and livelihoods across the globe.- EndsTrending Reel
